Magnetic clutch.



' PATBNTED JUNE 9,1903.

G. EASTWOD. MAGNETIC CLUTCHI APPLIUATION FILED un. 2, 190s.

N0 MODEL.

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Unirse STATES] i FFCE.

f Patented 'uhe 9,1903).

MAG N f-:Tlo CLUTCH.

vSIE'ECAIFICATION forming' part of LettersPatent'No. 730,621, dated/IAune 9, 1903.

' i ,y Appiicaion ned Aprn 2, 190s. sain na 150,766. on moa-ela To @ZZwhom, t may concern:

Be it known that I, ARTHUR C. EAsrW-joon, a citizen of the UnitedStates, and a resident.

of Cleveland, Chio, have invented certainlniprovements in MagneticClutches, of which'v the following is a specification.

sists in certain improvements in ther detail construction of clutchesdepending for-their action upon the holding power of a magnet and of thetype commonly known as` magnetic clutches.

The object of the invention is to provide a structure whose partsshallinstantaneously become disconnected when the current by Whose actiontheyare held together or coupled is broken, saidA devicerbeing of such anature that its 4action is certain and does not permit of thepossibility of residual magnetism in the clutch members, causing them toremain coupled, and therefore continue to transmit power after the customary operation has been performed to cause them to become discon-This object I attain as hereinafter set fo'rth, reference being hadtothe accompanying drawings, inwhich-V Figure l is a sect'onal elevationof a magnetic clutch constructed according to myin'- vention. Fig. 2 isa sectional elevation of a special form of my inventionA in .which theadjustable shoes are carried upon the member of the clutch on which theactuating-magnet is wound; and Fig.l 3 is anend elevation .of a portionof Fig. l, showing the preferred arrangement of bolts for adjusting theshoes.

The great objectionto magnetic clutches has hitherto been that owing tothe,residual magnetism in their members they vare unzr certain in theiraction when the energizing# current is broken odi', since, whilefin someinstances their members become disengaged instantly thegflow of currentceases, at other times they will remainy coupled for an appreciable timerafter such cessation of the current, thereby frequently causing.damage, particularly in a case in which they are used inconnection withmachine-tools, such as planers, which have parts whose direction ofmotion is frequently reversed and in which it is essential that suchreversal should take place at the predetermined moment. l have Yffoundthat'this uncertainty oit'Y action could :be obviated byproviding` and maintaining ian air-gapbetween the memberof'the clutchEforming the armature and themember .upon

:which the actuating-magnet was wound,usin g for this purpose a seriesof shoes'lof .non-mag- .'netic material carried by and projecting fromone ofthe clutch members, so that evenwhen 'the actuating-current Visflowing 'the other member of Athe clutch will be held 4an appreciabledistance away, preferably about one .thirty-second of an inch. Y

In the above drawings,A represents a shaft having fixed to it a disk B,which in the present instance forms the armature of the clutch, Whosesecond member is shown at C. This second member is carried upon a sleevec, freely rotatable on the shaft A, while the armature B is compelled torotate with said shaft, While being free to move longitudinally thereon.Y Y

Power is transmitted from the member C to any desired form of receivingdevice through the medium of a gear c', which in the present instance isheld4 to the said clutch 4member by means lof a series of bolts, one ofwhich is shown at Ac2. ln a recess in the body of this member C iscontained a casing c3, having within it 'a magnetewinding (indicated atci) and held in place by means of'a body of typemetal c", which is castinthe entrance of the recess containing said' casing c3 and extends intothe grooves, as nshown, so that it cannot become displaced. 4,

At .intervals inthe outer portion of the disk B is formed a series ofrecesses, usually cirv cular -in form, in which are placed cylindricalblocks of hard wood h, or, in tact, of any other' suitable material,there also being a washer h'fin the bottom of each recess, against whichpresses a bolt h2, threaded into the material'of the disk member, bywhich'it is possible to force these blocks of Wood, which act asholding-shoes, outwardlyto any desired extent. i i

Current is led to the Winding c4 from apair of metallic rings c5,supported on a Vsuitable extended portion of the member C and insulatedtherefrom by rings o of electrically-nonconducting material.

In operation when the circuit, including the rings c5 and themagnetwinding c4, is

closed the energization of said magnet holds the disk or armature B tothe member C, thereby causing any mechanism connected to the gear-wheelc' to be operatively connected to the driving device turni ng the shaftA. The armature or disk B, while being clutched to the member B, isprevented, by means of the blocks b and the bolts b2, from coming intoactual contact with the face of the member C, being held at a distancetherefrom depending on the amount of projection of the blocks asdetermined by the adjustment of the bolts.

In order to adjust the blocks Z1 so that they shall all project the samedistance from the face of the armature B, I insert four metallicspacing-pieces between the member C and the armature B at points ninetydegrees distant from one another and then apply current to themagnet-winding c4. The said metallic pieces are of a thickness the sameas the width of the air-gap which is desired between the two clutchmembers, and while these latter are held apart by said spacing-pieces Iscrew up the bolts b2, so as to force outwardly the blocks b vuntil suchmovement is stopped by their contact with the face of the member C.v.Iam-nuts b3 are then set up, so as to hold the bolts in their adjustedpositions, and when all of them are so adjusted I cut oif the currentand remove the spacing-pieces. In this way the air-gap is made uniformat all the points in the clutch.

If desired, the member C, in which is wound the coil c4, may beprovided, as shown in Fig. 2, with a flange or projecting portion C', inwhich areformed the recesses for the reception of the cylindrical blocksb and bolts b2, these acting in such case against the face of thearmature B.

It will be understood that the number of adjustable gripping` andspacing shoes b may be varied to suit the requirements of each case,since such number will depend upon the amount of power to betransmitted, as well as on the dimensions of the clutch. Vhen thecircuit including the magnet-winding c4- is first closed, there will benecessarily more or less slip between the two members of the clutch,which will naturally cause more or less wear of the shoes b, thus intime diminishing the width of the air-gap. This, however, may becompensated for, as noted above, by adjusting the bolts b2 so as tomaintain the armature B at a predetermined distance from the member C.

I claim as my inventionl. A magnetic clutch provided with means formaintaining an air-gap between its members while the clutch is inoperation, and means for adjusting the amount of said airgap,substantially as described.

2. A magnetic clutch having two mem bers whereby a load may be connectedwith driving mechanism at will and including adjustable means wherebysaid two members are prevented from approaching one another nearer thana predetermined distance, substantially as described.

3. The combination in a magnetic clutch, of a member having. amagnet-winding, and a second member constituting an armature for saidmagnet, with a series of shoes of nonmagnetic material carried by one ofthe members for maintaining an air-gap between said members when theclutch is in operation, and means for adjusting said shoes,substantially as described.

4. The combination in a magnetic clutch, of one member provided with amagnet-winding, and a second member constituting an armature, one ofsaid members having a series of recesses with blocksof non-magneticmaterial held therein and a series of bolts for holding the said blocksin a predetermined position, substantially as described.

5. The combination in a magnetic clutch of two members, one of which isprovided with a magnet-winding, the second member of said clutch being`movable toward and from the other member, one of the members having aseries of blocks projecting from its face and adjacent to the face ofthe other member of the clutch, with a series of bolts for said blockswhereby the distance between said two members when the magnet-coil isenergized, may be regulated, substantially as described.

G. The combination in a magnetic clutch, of a member having amagnet-winding within an annular recess, asecond member free toy movevtoward and from said first member and provided with a series of shoesprojecting from its face, said shoes being placed to engage a portion ofthe rst member at a distance farther from its center of revolution thanthat of the magnet-winding, with means for adjusting the positions ofsaid shoes, substantially as described.

7. The combination in a magnetic clutch of two members, one of the samehaving a magnet-coil and the other constituting an armature, one of saidmembers having a series of holes whose axes are parallel to the axis ofrevolution of the clutch, gripping-shoes in said holes, washers bearingon the shoes and bolts engaging the washers for adjusting the positionof said shoes, substantially as described.

8. A magnetic clutch having shoes carried by one of its elements forengaging another element, said shoes being placed to fuliil the doublefunction of transmitting power from one of said elements to the otherand also regulating the air-gap between the armature and the pole-piecesof the magnet, with means for adjusting the positions of said shoes atwill, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two vsubscribing witnesses.

ARTHUR C. EASTVOOD.

Vitnesses:

LARoY RAUDENBUsH, Jos. H. KLEIN.

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